Vlad Taltos
Vladimir Taltos. An Easterner and member of the House of Jhereg. Originally, Vlad's family is from the eastern kingdom of Fenario, though Vlad himself was raised in Adrilankha. Fencer, outstanding witch, mediocre sorceror, gifted but dangerously incompetent elder sorceror. Very good with thrown knives or shuriken, proficient with a lepip, and a former assassin-by-trade, probably the second-best in the Empire after Mario. Imperial Count Szurke. Technically, still a baronet of House Jhereg. Most notable continuing activity: providing food for his familiar, the jhereg Loiosh. History Raised by his father (Vlad's mother having either died or left home when he was very young), Vlad grew up working in a restaurant somewhere outside of the Easterner's Ghetto in Adrilankha. After many years, his father spent their entire life savings to purchase a baronetcy in the Jhereg (see Joining Houses), in order to provide what he perceived as a "better life" for his son. It should be said that Vlad's father hated all things "Eastern" and endeavored to raise his son with the belief that Dragaerans were superior. In this he was not especially successful. (In fact, Vlad developed a secret hatred of Dragaerans which was aided by the fact that Orca bullies would beat him up on a regular basis.) To his father's dismay, Vlad's grandfather Noish-pa taught him witchcraft, Eastern-style fencing, and helped him acquire his familiar Loiosh. Vlad was fourteen when his father died of one of the many plagues that were common in Draegara during the Interregnum. Vlad's father refused to allow his disease to be healed by witchcraft, due to his disdain for all things Eastern. The family could not afford the services of a Sorcerer, having spent so much money purchasing a title in the Jhereg. Vlad himself would have probably died of the same disease, but he was healed by his grandfather using witchcraft. After his father's death, Vlad continued to run the family restaurant for a about two years. He then sold it and (with the aid of Kiera the thief) joined the criminal Right Hand of the Jhereg as a low-level enforcer, working for Nielar. Here he was first partnered with Kragar, a Dragaeran Jhereg formerly of the House of Dragon. Eventually, Vlad started accepting "work" (i.e. performing assasinations for other members of the Jhereg). This was Vlad's idea of a perfect job at the time, owing to his hatred of Dragaerans. After working in this business for a time, Vlad took the opportunity to replace his former boss, Tagichatn, and run the criminal side of a section of Adrilankha for himself. (Details on Vlad's rise within the Jhereg can be found in Taltos, and Yendi.) Shortly after this, Vlad was approached by Morrolan e'Drien and Sethra Lavode for his help in retrieving the staff containing the soul of Aliera e'Kieron. (And further, his help in venturing to the Paths of the Dead with Morrolan to restore Aliera's soul to her body.) It was at this time that Vlad "acquired" Spellbreaker, a magical chain that protected him against Dragaeran Sorcery. During one especially difficult period during his rise within the Jhereg (a war with another Jhereg boss named Laris), Vlad met an Eastern woman named Cawti--when she successfully assassinated him! Fortunately, Vlad was revivified by Aliera, and Vlad soon found he had more in common with Cawti (noticeably her hatred of Dragaerans) than differences, and the two quickly fell in love, and married. (Yendi) It was shortly after this that Vlad was contacted by The Demon to perform some very special "work"--taking out Mellar, a former Jhereg Council member who had absconded with nine million Imperials. It was during this job that Vlad met Rocza, a female jhereg who agreed to help him complete his job. Shortly thereafter, Rocza became Loiosh's mate. (Jhereg) A few months after this, Vlad discovered, much to his chagrin, that Cawti had joined a group of Easterners in South Adrilankha who were working to overthrow The Empire. As a result of this, he found himself at odds with another Jhereg named Herth. After numerous foiled assassination attempts on both sides, Vlad eventually "negotiated" a peace with Herth, and then bought him out, taking over the Organization interests in South Adrilankha. (Teckla) The peace did not last long, however, as Vlad quickly found himself at odds with the rest of the Jhereg Organization over the events occuring in South Adrilankha. It was shortly after Vlad had murdered the king of Greenaere for Verra that the unrest in the Easterner's Ghetto came to a head (See Revolt of 244). As a result Boralinoi, a council member, arranged for Cawtis arrest by The Empire. This proved to be the final straw for Vlad, who went to the Empress with information implicating Boralinoi in the crime. This had major consequiences fro Vlad, since even though Boralinoi was killed shortly thereafter, the rest of the Jhereg Council dedicated all of their resources to finding and ending Vlad's career permanently. For his actions, Vlad was made Count of Szurke (he may be the first Jhereg ever to receive an Imperial title). (Phoenix) Having no choice but to try to elude the assassins of the Jhereg, Vlad left his life in Adrilankha behind, and began wandering the countryside, searching for a new life. He has survived thus far with the help of two jhereg, a gold Phoenix Stone and a black one to mask him to sorcery and witchcraft, and a witch's amulet supplied by his Noish-pa to make teleportation less unsettling. So far he has remained intact with the exception of the pinky finger on his left hand, and it is not clear exactly how he lost that. During a visit to Smallcliff, Vlad discovered the murder of Reins, the cart driver who had helped him infiltrate the keep of Loraan years earlier. Vlad then recruited the help of a young Teckla named Savn in killing the undead Athyra wizard. During this encounter, Savn was traumatized to the point of catatonia. (Athyra) Searching for a cure for Savn, Vlad later investigated the murder of a powerful Orca, resulting in the revelation that Kiera the thief was actually Sethra Lavode. (Vlad is the only person to know this fact). (Orca) Current Events Recently, in Issola, Vlad acquired a Great Weapon by the name of Godslayer under dire conditions. He may have become considerably more confident since, as he was last seen teleporting from his on-the-run life directly to the famous restaurant Valabar's, in the capital city of the Empire. Additional Notes Vlad's patron Goddess, more or less, is Verra, with whom both he, Aliera, and Morrolan have a somewhat personal relationship. His wife, Cawti, has not yet told him about his son, Vlad Norathar. According to Aliera, Vlad is the reincarnation of Dolivar, the founder of the house of Jhereg, and brother of Kieron. Needless to say, this information has had an effect on the hatred of Dragaerans Vlad has carried throughout his life. (This is also how Vlad is capable of using Elder Sorcery, which he has done only twice, nearly killing himself (and a number of others) on each occasion.) Relations *Noish-pa (his Grandfather) *Cawti (his estranged wife) *Vlad Norathar (their son) *Loiosh (his familiar) and Rocza, Loiosh's mate *Verra (his patron goddess) *Kieron (his brother in a former life) *Aliera (who, in a former life, was his sibling (also in a former life)) *Devera (who will be his niece (sort of, see above) when she is born) Friends Living *Aibynn *Morrolan *Aliera *Kragar Undead *Sethra Lavode who is also Kiera *The Necromancer Other *Teldra (now Godslayer) Enemies Vlad has a LOT of enemies. Here are the ones we know about so far, with a brief rundown of why they don't like him very much. Individuals Living *Count Soffta (For threatening his life in order to get Cawti out of prison) *Sethra the Younger (after he broke down the Yendi Conspiracy, and discredited and humiliated her in the process) *The Sorceress in Green (after he broke down the Yendi Conspiracy and discredited and humiliated her in the process) *Toronnan (for his support of Kelly's Organization) *Herth (for his attempts to uncover the person who ordered Franz's death) *Vonnith (for his attempts to uncover the Orca conspiracy) *Reega (for his attempts to uncover the Orca conspiracy) Deceased *Loraan (for stealing back Aliera's soul, as well as Spellbreaker) *Mellar (Vlad was hired to assainate him) *Laris (because he stood in the way of the Yendi Conspiracy) *Boralinoi (for his role in the Revolt of 244) *Ishtvan (for his betrayal of the Organization *Stony (for his attempts to uncover the Orca conspiracy) *Domm (for his attempts to uncover the Orca conspiracy) Unknown *Ori (because he assisted Morrolan in locating the sword stolen after Baritt's death) *Fornia(because he assisted Morrolan in locating the sword stolen after Baritt's death) *Bajinok (for his attempts to uncover the person who ordered Franz's death) Groups *The Jhereg Council (for his betrayal of Boralinoi to the Empire) *The government of Greenaere, especially His Majesty Corcor'n (for his assassination of Haro Olithorvold) *The Jenoine (he killed one with Godslayer) *Kelly's Organization, sort of. Former Employees The following individuals worked for Vlad at various times during the period where he ran a section of Adrilankha. Living *Chimov *Glowbug *Kragar Deceased *Machen *Melestav *N'aal *Narvane *Quion *Shoen *Sticks *Temek *Varg Unknown *Miraf'n *Wyrn Quotables "Heh." "Shut up Loiosh." "Say, are those real spears?" "Yeah. You go down and hold 'em off while I set up the ballista." "I'm generalizing from one example, here, but everyone generalizes from one example. At least, I do." Category:Characters Category:Jhereg Category:Easterners